£20m bid to replace Harrogate buses with electric fleet

An entire fleet of buses in Harrogate could be replaced with electric models as part of an ambitious £20 million bid.

North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) is working with the Harrogate Bus Company, part of Transdev, on a bid for more than £8 million in government money.

Transdev has also proposed to prop up the bid with £11.5 million of its own funds.

If successful, Harrogate would welcome a total of 39 zero-emission buses over the next three years.

The buses come with next stop announcements, USB power and free wifi.

There would be an even split of single-decker and double-decker electric buses which would come with supporting charging infrastructure.

Now, the Department for Transport (DfT) has asked the council to submit a business case for the project.

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The bid must be submitted by the end of January 2022 with a decision from the DfT expected by March 2022.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, the executive member for access at NYCC, said:

“We’re near the start of a competitive process and success is not guaranteed, but this action illustrates the scale of our ambition and commitment.

“This project aligns with the decarbonisation ambitions we share with partners across the region to protect the environment and counter climate change.

“It would accelerate improvements in air quality, as zero emission vehicles produce no tail pipe emissions, bringing health benefits to residents and visitors.”

Alex Hornby, CEO at Transdev, said:

“We have already created a low-emission bus fleet in Harrogate thanks to the huge investment we have made in the past few years.

“We hope this bid will lead to the next exciting step of our vision to create a completely zero-emission bus network, powered by a fully-electric fleet.

“With our partners at North Yorkshire County Council, we aim to create further improvements in infrastructure.

“This comes at a time when we believe our town is ready to embrace more sustainable forms of travel.”

‘Strong support’ for more Harrogate bus lanes

Harrogate councillors have signalled their strong support for ideas including more bus lanes and a smart ticketing system to boost use of public transport.

Members of Harrogate Borough Council’s overview and scrutiny commission will put the ideas to North Yorkshire County Council to support a multi-million pound bid for government cash, which could help pave the way for a greener transport.

The ideas, which also include more electric buses and more frequent services in rural areas, are part of a wider move to reduce car travel.

But after years of cuts to services and declining passenger numbers, there are questions over how willing motorists will be to make the switch to public transport.

Speaking at a meeting on Monday, Cllr Michael Harrison, the Conservative representative for Killinghall and Hampsthwaite, said: 

“All these ideas to make buses more attractive are clearly welcome but we must not kid ourselves that if people do not use them and they are just running empty tins of fresh air, then eventually they will fail.

“We need to be realistic about running empty buses because the funding will always run out if no-one is using them.”

£7m a year on bus passes

North Yorkshire County Council is the area’s public transport authority and subsidises around £1.5 million a year to keep services running.

It also spends about £7 million a year on bus passes for the elderly and disabled, as well as their carers.

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The county council is currently drawing up bidding proposals for the government’s new bus strategy, under which £3 billion is to be made available to make buses across the country cheaper and easier to use.

The bid is being prepared through a Bus Service Improvement Plan and so-called enhanced partnerships where the county council will agree to infrastructure improvements in return for better services from bus companies.

Cllr Phil Ireland, cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability at Harrogate Borough Council, said the proposals would play a key part in funding a greener future and highlighted the importance of collaboration between Harrogate’s two bus companies – Transdev and Connexions.

He said: 

“These two key pieces of work will unlock the potential of future funding via the national bus strategy, so it is vital that the county prepare these and that we feed in Harrogate Borough Council’s views.

“We have particularly discussed the integration of tickets and had a long debate about trying to resolve the impasse between Transdev and Connexions.

“I’m no miracle worker and I can’t guarantee we will be able to overcome that problem.

“But it is important that we do get this integration moving forward and get collaboration between bus providers in the district if we are going to persuade people to discard their cars and use public transport more frequently.”

Park and ride

Under the plans for smart ticketing, passengers would be able to use their tickets on different modes of transport and with different travel companies.

Councillors have also signalled their strong support for a Harrogate park and ride scheme, which county council officials are currently looking into. There are two potential sites for this – land near Pannal Golf Club and another site near Buttersyke Bar roundabout south of the village.

It comes as the county council is currently piloting its on-demand bus service, YorBus, which allows app users to book and track services on-demand in the Ripon, Bedale and Masham areas.

Since its launch in July, 726 journeys have been completed with an average customer rating of 4.9 out of 5.

New Harrogate to Skipton bus service on Saturdays

The Harrogate Bus Company is to introduce a new service connecting Harrogate and Skipton.

The 59 service will run four times each way on Saturdays, starting on May 22.

Buses will depart from Harrogate bus station at 0945, 1145, 1445, and 1645, and from Skipton bus station at 1040, 1240, 1540, and 1740.

The bus will stop at The Millstones, Blubberhouses for Fewston reservoir, the Devonshire Arms for Bolton Abbey, Bolton Abbey station for the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway, and terminate at Skipton bus station.

The journey will take just less than 50 minutes in both directions.

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This is the first bus to link Harrogate and Skipton since the X59 service was cancelled in 2013. There has been no direct public transport link between the two towns in the eight years since.

The price of a single or return ticket is not known yet, but a daytripper ticket to allow further connections with other Transdev services costs £10.

The news comes as local councils are considering plans to reduce car dependency and encourage active travel and use of public transport in the Harrogate district.

Transdev set to buy Yorkshire Tiger bus service

Transdev has agreed to buy the West Yorkshire-based Yorkshire Tiger bus service from Arriva UK Bus.

The French company, which operates the 36 route between Ripon, Harrogate and Leeds, announced the preliminary agreement today. It did not return inquiries from the Stray Ferret about the cost of the deal.

The sale is expected to be completed in summer.

A Transdev statement said  Arriva’s 163 employees will transfer to Transdev Blazefield, which employs over 1,200 people at eight operating centres across the north of England.

Local bus services would not be affected, it added.

The sale includes Arriva’s two depots at Elland, near Halifax and Waterloo in Huddersfield, as well as 61 buses.

As part of the deal, Arriva’s 163 drivers, engineers, cleaning and support staff at the two depots will join Transdev, which employs 1,200 people at eight centres in the region, including Starbeck.

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Transdev Blazefield chief executive Alex Hornby said:

“We are thrilled to be growing our team and our company, and are really looking forward to serving this part of West Yorkshire for the first time.

“This demonstrates Transdev’s long-term commitment to develop our business here in the north of England, building on a clear track record of success.

“At this critical time for the bus, we believe it can play a key role in enabling our economic recovery, both locally and nationally.

Yorkshire Tiger’s day and season passes are expected to be integrated into Transdev’s range of travel tickets, and travel company West Yorkshire Metro’s range of tickets will continue to be valid on all its services.

The sole exceptions to the deal are the 231 and 232 Huddersfield to Wakefield routes, which are planned to remain within Arriva as part of its Yorkshire business.

Harrogate district pauses for National Day of Reflection

People and organisations across the Harrogate district paused at noon today for the National Day of Reflection.

The day, organised by end of life charity Marie Curie, gave people in the UK the chance to remember the 126,000 covid-related deaths, which include more than 1,100 in North Yorkshire.

Staff at Harrogate District Hospital and Ripon Community Hospital were offered the opportunity to observe a minute’s silence.

Staff at Harrogate District Hospital

Staff at Harrogate District Hospital.

Hospital staff working from home were able to take part online in an event led by chaplains.

The Harrogate Bus Company, owned by Transdev, remembered staff lost during the pandemic, when buses have continued to operate despite risks.

Today at 12noon we’re joining in the 1 minute silence for the #DayOfReflection to support @mariecurieuk.

Your driver will pull over if it is safe – please join us if you are on board.

We're remembering colleagues in the Transdev family who we sadly lost over the past year ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ptvzTxt7cy

— The Harrogate Bus Company (@harrogatebus) March 23, 2021

At a press briefing today Nick Moxon, a resident at Disability Action Yorkshire‘s home on Claro Road in Harrogate and chair of a care home visiting task group set up by North Yorkshire County Council last year, paid tribute to care workers’ efforts during the pandemic.

Speaking at North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which leads the county’s response to covid, he said:

“Staff members don’t ask to work throughout the pandemic, they have to come to work and they have managed to just adapt to the situation.

“Thank you to care staff and North Yorkshire County Council for the care and support over the past year.”

 

 

 

Harrogate’s rural bus services not good enough, says councillor

A Liberal Democrat councillor has said he was “flabbergasted” by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps’ claim this week that Harrogate buses are among the best in the country.

Mr Shapps told Parliament this week that Harrogate’s “frequent modern services” has made buses “the transport of choice”.

His comments, alongside the launch of a new national bus strategy, prompted Chris Aldred, who represents Harrogate Fairfax, to contact the Stray Ferret.

Cllr Aldred said although Transdev’s “swanky number 36s” that link Harrogate, Ripon and Leeds provided a good service, rural areas suffered from infrequent or nonexistent services.

He said:

“Travelling on a bus within the Harrogate district is far from being ‘the transport of choice’ simply because there is often no bus to catch.

“I am lucky to represent a ward relatively close to Harrogate town centre. My colleagues representing rural wards within the district tell horror stories of villages and towns receiving so-called services of one or two buses a day.”

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A 2019 study published by the Campaign for Better Transport found that more than 3,000 local bus routes have been lost or reduced over the past decade.

Cllr Aldred said the Harrogate district’s rural residents have felt the impact most keenly.

He added Harrogate Borough Council’s overview and scrutiny commission, which he chaired, had already identified bus provision as something to examine in detail.

Cllr Aldred said:

“These limited services often stop at teatime, making nighttime trips impossible. Sometimes there are none at all on a weekend and those that do run are often at very inconvenient times for those planning trips to the larger towns within the district.”

The Harrogate district is served by two private bus companies: Transdev’s the Harrogate Bus Company and Connexionsbuses.

Responding to Cllr Aldred’s comments, Harrogate Bus Company’s general manager Frank Stanisauskis said:

“Our 36 service is a proven success in attracting more people to choose the bus and provides a much valued service to villages on the route, including Harewood, Pannal, Killinghall, Ripley and South Stainley. Even during lockdown, when customer numbers represented 20% of normal pre-pandemic levels, we still operated over 80% of the usual timetable.

“As in most English counties, rural bus services in North Yorkshire are generally provided with local authority support. Some counties, such as Cumbria, have ceased to fund rural buses altogether, but we continue to work with North Yorkshire County Council and other external partners to sustain rural services wherever we can.

“Pressure on council funding over the years, and not any lack of desire to keep buses going, has seen a few rural services provided by various operators withdrawn. These impacted very few people, and both ourselves and the county council have to prioritise limited resources to support services which benefit the most people.

“Our obvious rural route is the 24 between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge: we operate it without subsidy and at a loss, but we persevere, not least because we know its importance to the people of Nidderdale.”

Harrogate district trains and buses to run reduced timetable

Trains and buses in the Harrogate district are operating reduced timetables during the third national lockdown.

Northern announced yesterday it will begin its new timetable on Monday, with the company warning there will be fewer trains.

From Monday there will be 30 daily departures from Harrogate to Leeds on Monday to Friday, compared to 38 before the new timetable.

Tricia Williams, the chief operating officer at Northern, said:

“We will focus on delivering services during the morning and evening peaks so those who need to travel can get to where they’re needed and have the space to maintain social distancing.”

“We’re therefore calling on people to check carefully before they travel and behave responsibly on our trains.”

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The Harrogate Bus Company started its new timetable on Sunday and said it will run eight out of 10 journeys. The following applies:

(The 1) Harrogate to Knaresborough:

(2A) Harrogate to Bilton and Dene Park:

(2B) Harrogate to Bilton and The Knox:

(3) Harrogate to Jennyfield:

(6/X6) Harrogate to Pannal Ash:

(7) Harrogate to Wetherby and Leeds:

(36) Ripon to Harrogate and Leeds:

The Harrogate Bus Company’s chief executive Alex Hornby said:

“Our message to our customers is that we are still very much here for you – our buses are clean, safe and ready to go, just as they have always been throughout the pandemic.

“We know from experience that our buses provide a vital service for key workers and others who depend on us to reach essential shops and services.”

Bus company steps up to help clear snowy roads

Key workers have been proving their worth every day in the pandemic – and some did so in spades again today.

Members of staff at The Harrogate Bus Company took to the roads with shovels and grit to help keep drivers moving.

When heavy snow fell for most of the day, major routes came to a standstill, leaving drivers stranded and holding up bus services. So, suspending services in the face of poor conditions, drivers, engineers, cleaners and even directors got to work in a new way.

A member of Harrogate Bus Company staff clears the road

A member of Harrogate Bus Company staff clears the road

Operations director Vitto Pizzuti said:

“Our team has really pulled together, to try and help around the town on a difficult day. The weather looks to have caught a lot of people by surprise, so we’ve been out gritting roads, getting stuck cars moving again, and doing what we can to help.

“The generosity of others has been really welcome too – like the team in Sainsbury’s in Knaresborough bringing hot drinks to our drivers waiting in the bus station.

“We’re hoping to have buses running normally again very soon, thanks to the effort of our colleagues.”

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New Harrogate to Leeds Bradford Airport bus service begins

The transport company Transdev has begun its new bus service from Harrogate to Leeds Bradford Airport.

The A2 Flyer bus, which replaced the 747 Flying Tiger service on Sunday, stops at local villages including Pannal, Huby and Poole-in-Wharfedale on the way to the airport. It also goes to Yeadon, Rawdon and Bradford.

An airport return ticket, valid for 28 days, costs £8.90 for a single adult and £15 for a group.

A seven-day ticket for one person costs £24 and a 28-day ticket costs £77.

The buses offer free WiFi and every seat has a USB charging point.

Transdev said in a statement the new route provided “a post-lockdown boost” to the regional economy.

Chief executive Alex Hornby said:

“We’re delighted to have secured a multi-year contract to introduce these amazing Flyer buses to Yorkshire. This new service is a very important element of our growth strategy and will attract new customers by creating buses that people are proud to be seen on.”

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The coronavirus pandemic has seen passenger numbers at Leeds Bradford Airport fall well below normal levels. Last week, Jet2 cancelled all flights to Ibiza, Menorca and Majorca for the rest of the summer season.

Harrogate Town get ready for celebratory open top bus parade

Harrogate Town fans are expected to be out in yellow and black tomorrow, as an open-top bus full of the team’s players parades through the town.

It’s in celebration of their historic 3-1 win over Notts County last Sunday, taking them into League Two for the first time in the club’s history.

The bus will leave the CNG Stadium tomorrow at 12.05pm and go on a 35-minute tour of the town, finishing back at their home ground on Wetherby Road.

Garry Plant, managing director at the club, spoke to the Stray Ferret ahead of the parade:

“Hopefully existing and new fans will be there to see the players and trophy. Players are looking forward to connecting back with the fans as they were denied of that at Wembley, and it’s a case of closing the door on the celebration and now it’s down to business of getting promoted.”

Photo Credit: Matt Kirkham, Harrogate Town

Harrogate Town has reassured supporters that precautionary steps are in place to ensure social distancing is observed at their open-top bus parade.

“We have had to write volumes of protocol, working with North Yorkshire Police as well as our own covid officer – it has been hard work but well worth it. The bus won’t be stopping as if the bus stops then people will gather and that brings a whole raft of issues… so the bus will be going along at Harrogate pace and people will get a chance to see the players and the trophy.”

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The Harrogate Bus Company is providing the open-top bus, which will be decorated in true “Town style”.

Alex Hornby, of bus company Transdev Blazefield, told the Stray Ferret:

“We are really proud to donate an open-top bus to take part in the celebrations for our town and our local club, and felt it a worthy recognition of for Harrogate Town’s incredible and historic win and entry into the football league.

“By its nature, this is a roving tour of several miles covering the town centre and surrounding area, with no deliberate focal point and the full support and co-operation of the police and local authority. We encourage everyone to celebrate with us all safely.”